In 1981, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women's History Week. The week was chosen to coincide with International Women's Day, March 8. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month, and it has issued a resolution every year since then for Women's History Month. The U.S. president also issues an annual proclamation on Women's History Month. As last year's presidential proclamation stated, "Women's HistoryMonth provides our country the privilege of honoring the countless contributions that American women have made throughout our history."

Earnings

$29,215The median annual earnings of women age 15 and older who worked full time, year-round. After adjusting for inflation, earnings for these women climbed 3.5 percent in 2001, the fifth consecutive increase. In contrast, earnings for their male counterparts did not change significantly over that period. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-124.html>76 centsFor every $1 their male counterparts earn, that is the amount women earn who work full time, year-round. This ratio represents an all-time high, eclipsing the previous high of 74 cents for every $1, first recorded in 1996. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-124.html>

$2.9 millionEstimated work-life earnings of women with a professional degree (i.e., medical, law, dental or veterinarian) who work full time, year-round. For women, like men, more education means higher career earnings: it is estimated that those without a high school diploma would earn $700,000 during their work lives, increasing to $1.0 million if they have a high school diploma and $1.6 million with a bachelor's degree. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-95.html>

Education

84The percentage of women age 25 and over with at least a high school diploma, slightly higher than the percentage for men. (From soon-to-be-published Internet tables.)

-- The gap between men and women with college degrees has not closed completely, but the percentages are close: 25 percent of women age 25 and over have a bachelor's degree or higher compared with 29 percent of men. (From soon-to-be-published Internet tables.)

-- Younger women have gone beyond closing the education gap. They have opened a reverse gap: 33 percent of young women, ages 25 to 34, have completed college, which exceeds the 29 percent of their male counterparts who have done so. Young women, 25 to 34, also have higher high school completion rates than young men: 89 percent versus 85 percent. (From soon-to-be-published Internet tables.)

50Among the 71 million women at least 16 years old who work, the percentage who work full time, year-round. More than 9-in-10 employed, civilian women age 16 and over work in one of three occupational groups: sales and office (37 percent); management, professional and related (36 percent); and service (18 percent). <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>

Voting

61Percentage of women, age 18 and over and citizens, who cast a ballot in the last presidential election. This compares with 58 percent of their male counterparts. Among all voting-age people, women have voted at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1984. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-31.html>

55The percentage of mothers in the labor force who have infant children, down from a record 59 percent in 1998. This marks the first significant decline in this rate since the Census Bureau began asking the question in 1976. In that year, 31 percent of these mothers were in the labor force. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-170.html>

145.0 millionThe number of females as of July 1, 2001. That exceeds the number of males, who numbered 139.8 million. Males outnumber females in every age group through ages 30 to 34. Starting with 35- to 39-year-olds, women outnumber men. At 85 and over, there are more than twice as many women as men. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03-16.html>